Chapter Text
When exam time comes around, it’s close to impossible to not get stressed out. Taehyung, a third year chemistry major, has found himself in that exact situation. Balancing his schoolwork with his other priorities has shown to be difficult, but he has nearly mastered the art of time management after 3 years of practice. He knows how much time and effort he has to put into each of his classes in order to succeed, and always somehow finds a way to accomplish it. Most importantly, he knows when to stop studying and take a break. His boyfriend Jeongguk, on the other hand, hasn’t quite mastered this skill yet, so often times Taehyung has to force him away from his studies to relax and de-stress before picking his work back up again.
Jeongguk is a second year art major specializing in photography, so he is no stranger to spending hours upon hours shooting the perfect photographs, editing his work, and writing essays on art history. If the photograph isn’t perfect, he won’t allow anyone to see. Jeongguk takes a lot of pride in his art, and Taehyung truly admires him for it. That’s why when Jeongguk allows him to be the model in his photography, he can’t help but feel special. Quite honestly, there isn’t a time that Jeongguk doesn’t make Taehyung feel special, but he feels especially honored to be a part of the work that he cares so much for.
Taehyung has had a long day of classes, but they’re finally over. Jeongguk’s classes ended earlier in the day, and he usually takes the time after his classes to work on homework and study. As Taehyung does every day, he texts Jeongguk to ask him how his day is going.
Taebaby <3: hey babe how has your day been so far? :)
Most often this gesture leads to them talking about what they’ve done in the day and what their plans are for later. The plans are almost always involving each other in some way, whether it’s an evening studying side by side, or a night to themselves watching movies and cuddling. When his phone vibrates, he doesn’t waste a second to check the text. Although they’ve been together for years, the novelty of talking to Jeongguk has never worn off.
Gukkie <333: okay.
If Taehyung knows anything, he knows that Jeongguk’s day was not okay. On a good day, Jeongguk would talk about everything he did that day, asking Taehyung to do the same. Although he comes off as quiet, Jeongguk never stops talking around Taehyung, even over text. As Taehyung was formulating a response, he receives another text.
Gukkie <333: do you think maybe you could come over. miss you.
Taebaby <3: I’ll be over in 5. Unlock the door for me angel : - )
Taehyung wastes no time in his response. As he types back his message, he’s already throwing on his coat, grabbing his pajamas and phone charger, and heading out the door. It isn’t often that Jeongguk goes quiet, and he knows that the boy has been stressed lately with finals. Although it’s not an emergency, Taehyung treats it as one, because he can’t bear to see his boyfriend upset.
It’s not long (4 minutes to be exact) until Taehyung is showing up at Jeongguk’s dorm room. When Jeongguk was deciding which dorm to live in, he purposely chose the one closest to Taehyung’s apartment so it would be easiest for them to see each other. This not only makes for quick hang outs where they can stop by and see each other in between classes if time permits, but also weekday sleep-over’s since they can easily walk back to their own place to get ready for the day (not that they really need to— they spend so much time at each other’s that they keep some one of everything in each place.)
As he approaches the door, Taehyung quietly knocks and pushes it open.
“Guk?” he asks gently, although it may have been too quiet, because he doesn’t receive an answer.
“Jeongguk? Are you here?” He asks again, and finally the boy rises from the couch in the middle of the room and wanders over toward him. Taehyung can’t quite read his facial expression, covered by his dark messy hair, but he can deduce that Jeongguk is upset. As he approaches, Taehyung opens his arms, and the boy falls into them. They wrap their arms around each other, and Taehyung begins to run his hands through Jeongguk’s hair soothingly, rubbing circles into the black strands. Jeongguk melts into him, and previous tension that was built up begins to disappear.
“Hey, it’s okay baby. I’ve got you.” Taehyung whispers, and as Jeongguk is about to speak, he adds,
“Come on, let’s go over to the couch.”
They unhook their arms, but Taehyung lightly grasps Jeongguk’s wrist and leads him over to sit on the couch. Taehyung sits down, back facing the arm of the couch and placing his feet up on the cushions, and then pulls Jeongguk down to sit in between his legs. He wraps his arms around him, holding both of his hands and placing them on Jeongguk’s lap. Jeongguk’s leans back so that his head is resting on Taehyung’s shoulder, and they’re able to look at each other. Taehyung kisses the boy on the forehead, and asks,
“Do you want to talk about what happened today?”
Jeongguk looks down, averting his eyes as he quietly begins to speak.
“I just had a really rough day. I was up all night last night studying for my exam today and writing an essay, so I forgot that I had my final project due in my photography class. I already had the photographs taken, but I didn’t have time to do my final edits, so I had to turn them in without looking over them and being completely happy with them. I don’t even remember what I turned in, and whatever we chose is being shown to the school at the art exhibition,” His voice begins to strain, and Taehyung grips his hands tighter.
“And I know it’s stupid to be this upset because I-”
Taehyung cuts him off, unlocking one of his hands with Jeongguk’s in order to place it on his cheek.
“Guk. Look at me please.” He starts, lightly pushing Jeongguk’s face to align with his.
“I promise you that what you are feeling right now isn’t stupid. You take so much pride in your art, and it’s completely understandable that you’re unhappy. No matter what you turned in for that project, it doesn’t make you any less of an artist, and I’m proud of you either way.”
As Taehyung speaks, tears begin to well up in Jeongguk’s eyes.
“Baby, I’m sorry, did I upset you? I-” Taehyung asks, but is interrupted by a firm kiss. The kiss was sloppy, with tears and saliva mixing, but it was still sweet, and Taehyung enjoys it all the same. As they begin to separate, Jeongguk puts his hand behind Taehyung’s head, holding him in place. Noses touching, Jeongguk looks at Taehyung with a small smile and drying tears on his cheeks, and says,
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome angel. I’m so happy to see that smile back on your face,” Taehyung responds, as a growing boxy smile appears on his own.
“I love you.” Jeongguk squeaks, as he is flipped around and pulled into a bone-crushing hug.
“I love you too. I love you so, so much.”
As they release each other from the hug, Taehyung catches Jeongguk by surprise with a searing kiss, putting both hands around his neck and pulling him closer. Jeongguk squeaks, obviously caught off guard, but he immediately relaxes and slants his head, deepening the kiss. Taehyung smiles, ruffling Jeongguk’s hair as they separate.
“Well baby, what do you want to do now? Until the second I leave, you aren’t allowed to do any school work. It’s a Friday, and academics can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, you’re all mine.”
“Well I am most definitely not opposed to that,” Jeongguk says with a toothy grin that grows wider as he continues, “I wouldn’t mind cuddling up and watching something. Want to continue where we left off in Souleater?”
“You didn’t continue without me? I’m so impressed! You’re definitely a keeper.”
“Anything for you angel,” Jeongguk responds as he smiles, and lands a quick kiss on Taehyung’s nose before getting up and setting up and TV.
The two cuddle up on the couch, limbs intertwined under piles of blankets. They held hands for the entirety of their anime marathon, stealing occasional kisses and talking about what they had just watched in between each episode. They watched for hours, until Taehyung watching TV turned into Taehyung watching Jeongguk, which ended in a heated make-out session and two very tired boyfriends. Taehyung looked over to see Jeongguk’s eyes beginning to close, and grabbed is wrist, pulling him up.
“Come on baby boy, let’s get you to bed,”
After sleepily brushing their teeth next to each other in the mirror and changing into their pajamas, (boxers and an on oversized t-shirt for Taehyung, and his favorite pair of Ironman pajama pants with no shirt for Jeongguk) they were ready for bed. They stood as close as possible to each other during the process of getting ready for bed, which is a habit that they’ve adopted after being with each other for so long, but it especially becomes visible when the two are sleepy.
Taehyung hops into bed, sliding himself under the covers and gets himself comfortable. Jeongguk walks back into the other room, and Taehyung has complaints to voice.
“Baby come to bed. That room doesn’t have the cold boyfriend that wants to cuddle and kiss you goodnight.”
Jeongguk enters the room, throws himself on the bed, and hovers over Taehyung, arms on either side of his head.
“Tae, I was just locking the door. But yes, you’re right, only this room has my super-cute-boy-friend-that-I-want-to-kiss-forever,” Jeongguk whispers between kisses.
Taehyung smiles, looking at Jeongguk fondly for a few seconds in silence. Jeongguk cocks an eyebrow, giving him a questioning look.
“What are you thinking about baby?”
“You,” Taehyung replies, with a soft smile and tired eyes.
“What about me?”
“How happy you make me,” He says confidently, and adds, “And how I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for being with you.”
Jeongguk looks at him thoughtfully for a few seconds, before a thin smile appears on his face. He leans down to place a kiss first on his forehead, then his nose, and finally his mouth, before saying,
“I can honestly say that I am never happier than when I am with you. I love you so much Taehyung. And thank you. Thanks for always listening to what I have to say and making me feel better when I’m down. You’re not only my boyfriend, but you’re my best friend.”
Taehyung feels tears begin to pool in his eyes, and he doesn’t hold them back.
“You took the words out of my mouth. Thank you for being the best boyfriend and best friend I could ever ask for. I love you too Guk.”
Jeongguk lifts his thumb up to Taehyung’s eyes and swipes his tears from his face. He leans in and pecks under both eyes, kissing away the trails of drying tears. They both smile at each other for a few seconds before Taehyung says,
“Let’s get to sleep baby boy. You must be tired from studying so much last night.”
“You’re right. But hey, do you wanna stay for a little while tomorrow? I got most of my work done for the weekend and I really missed you while I was studying,” Jeongguk asks, with a sheepish smile as he lays himself down facing Taehyung.
“Of course angel, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Jeongguk responds with a kiss to the lips, before whispering,
“Goodnight, love you babe.”
“Night, I love you too baby,” Taehyung replies, situating himself in between Jeongguk’s arms with his head on the boy’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around him. As he closed his eyes, he felt a wave of contentment fall over him. He was exactly where he wanted to be: in the arms of the love of his life, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.